Utah Salt Lake City Mission - President and Sister Condie

The weeks keep flying by. I’m sure most of that is due to the busy schedule we are keeping. It is transfer week next week so this week was spent largely arranging the companionships and areas of our approximately 170 missionaries. Last transfer I was so anxious, yet it seemed to fall into place. This time, I was much less anxious and it seemed to be so much more difficult. Ultimately, I felt I had put together companionships and areas that I could take to the Lord for his confirmation and approval. Even then, however, I needed the Assistants’ help to move areas around to make sure the Districts were even and appropriate. I attended and participated in my first two Coordinating Council meetings (a meeting with approximately 10 stake presidents and an Area Seventy) to coordinate the work of the stakes in that council area. Both of them went well and in the Holladay Coordinating Council, I was able to see an old friend from the University of Utah who was now the stake president of the s...

  Anne and I completed our first round of zone conferences – two last week for the 7 Salt Lake Valley zones and one this week for the 2 Wyoming zones. I felt like they went well for the most part. The missionaries seemed to be re-energized to do the work and expressed many compliments. My talk at the beginning of conference was on obedience. I felt like it was one of the most inspired talks I have ever been involved in writing. It seemed to almost write itself and I could see it in my mind clearly as it was formed. It was based largely on Elder David A. Bednar’s talk to the young missionaries in the MTC titled, "The Blessed and Happy State". The rest of the week was spent mostly finishing up missionary interviews in Rock Springs, Evanston and Park City.  Anne and I did, however, also attend our first stake conference as mission leaders Saturday night in the Murray Young Single Adult stake and were asked to speak. Elder Daren R. Barney, an Area Seventy, presided and spoke on...

Yesterday was such a wonderful day for Anne and me. We were able to attend 4 baptismal services, for 7 persons, in four different languages including English. In the morning we attended the baptisms of a husband and wife and the husband's sister (all in their late 20's and 30's). They belong to one of the Spanish speaking wards in the Millcreek area so the service was in that language. I am finding that my understanding of Spanish is improving but I have not found the time to practice speaking. The second baptisms we were able to attend were of a 19- and 21-year old brother and sister attending one of the Samoan wards in the Rose Park area. That service was obviously in Samoan. I was only able to understand a few words (baptism, testimony, and Jesus Christ). What a beautiful language and people! That afternoon we attended the baptism of an 82-year old man in one of the Tongan wards in Salt Lake City proper. I was surprised how different the Tongan language is from Samoan. A...